Hollow
by darkgirl11
Summary: Kirigakure made Suigetsu what he is today: broken. After the death of his brother and getting raped, he doesn't smile or talk. He isn't the same ninja he once was, he exceeds even the ruthlessness of Yagura, but he's depressed. He is called upon to help Konoha after a jailbreak in Kirigakure, but will this mission be his last or will someone save him? Can he become whole? Sasusui


_Hollow_

**Summary: Kirigakure made Suigetsu what he is today: broken. After the death of his brother and getting raped, he doesn't smile or talk. He isn't the same ninja he once was, he exceeds even the ruthlessness of Yagura, but he's depressed. He is called upon to help Konoha after a jailbreak in Kirigakure, but will this mission be his last or will someone save him? Sasusui**

Hollow

Suigetsu could remember his past all too well. He wished he didn't know how it felt and he wished he didn't relive it all at night, but he always did. People of Kirigakure remembered Suigetsu as such a happy person but that was years ago. That was the old Suigetsu. The new Suigetsu barely spoke or smiled. You were lucky if you got anything out of him after the death of his brother and the night he got raped.

The white haired ninja barely spoke of his past or what happened to him that night, but it shaped him into the person he was today. Sure, Mangetsu's death didn't help him any but the night he got raped, something changed in Suigetsu. He broke inside and even though people tried to fix him, they couldn't and he wouldn't let them in enough to fix him anyways.

He stayed alongside the new Mizukage, Mei, and became her right hand man. She could always count on him to get the job done, no matter what difficulty the mission was. He didn't show emotion or get attached to the people he worked with anymore, allowing him to continue on with the mission no matter what happened. Mei had tried countless numbers of times to help him or even get to know him, but he never said a word.

The only thing she had ever learned about Suigetsu is that he would sing from time to time. He never sang anything really sweet but when he sang, it was heavenly. Mei would find herself hypnotized by his voice and yearn for more but Suigetsu would feel a presence and become silent again. That was the only time she would hear him say anything unless she ordered him to respond to her, but she never commanded him to speak often.

Mei was at her desk filling out paperwork, Suigetsu by her side, when she heard an explosion. More mist than usual clouded the village, causing citizens to run back into their houses with fear. Mei got up and rushed to the window, she glared at the sight. Someone had used a paper bomb to break prisoners out of jail. She growled as some of them escaped but she couldn't allow more to leave, so she sent Suigetsu out after the remaining ones.

He nodded and was gone in the blink of an eye. She sighed to herself before smiling, Kirigakure was lucky to have a ninja like Suigetsu. He was a force to be reckoned with. He was able to take down enemies from other villages that were twice his size and strength, but none were ever able to defeat him. After learning about Suigetsu, the other villages stopped attacking and sought for an alliance instead, wanting the shark ninja on their side.

But then, Mei frowned to herself. She knew Suigetsu was depressed and had been since the death of his brother and the night of his rape, apparently Orochimaru got him. She had tried to get him psychological and just about any kind of medical help she could get him, but he never said a word. Doctors and psychologists could only diagnose him with depression after a sociologist came in to look at the way he interacted with others. He had a severe case of depression and she knew it was only a matter of time before he joined his brother.

Mangetsu died on the line of battle, defending Kirigakure until his last breath. Mangetsu had been too trusting, he was protecting someone who acted like they were hurt and when he turned his back for one second, he found a sword going through him. Suigetsu watched as his brother dropped to his knees and fell to the ground, lying in a pool of his own blood.

Something changed in Suigetsu that day, he let his demon out and killed everyone in sight, not knowing whether they were a friendly or not. When his anger finally subsided, he rushed to his dying brother. He held him in his arms, begging for him not to go. Mangetsu just smiled and wiped his little brother's tears away before saying his last words, "I wish I could stay here and keep you safe but I have to go, little brother. Don't do anything stupid. I love you, Sui…"

Suigetsu wailed as he hugged the corpse of his brother, slowly starting to enter a world of darkness. It would only be a month later before Suigetsu would be taken by Orochimaru. He would be found in the morning outside the hospital, bloody and bruised. When the doctors looked him over, it would be determined that he was raped. When Suigetsu woke up, he would no longer be the same. No more cheerful smiling Suigetsu, now, he was silent and broken.

The new Suigetsu took everything seriously, especially missions. With his new attitude, he was able to collect all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's weapons in less than half a year. He carried Zabuza's executioners blade with him but always had a scroll to summon the others in case he needed one of the other swords during battle. The demon side of Suigetsu rarely came out but when it did, it would be ten times worse than Zabuza. Everyone respected Suigetsu as the Second Coming of the Demon.

When Suigetsu appeared in Mei's office, she looked into his eyes and sighed. She was an expert at reading his eyes by now. He didn't speak, he spoke with his eyes and actions, mainly his eyes to her. She took a deep breath before stating, "I want you to go to Konoha. I want you to help their forces take on this enemy. They won't know how to fight against justus like ours. I want you to leave as soon as possible, understand?"

He nodded and was about to head out for Konoha when Mei grabbed his shoulder and made him face her. Their eyes met, his dull purple ones were eating at her core. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. She felt tears sting at her eyes, she knew this may very well be the last time she saw Suigetsu.

She had grown so attached to him, as if he was her son or her best friend. She told him everything and in turn, he listened to her. It was hard to find a good listener nowadays but she found one in Suigetsu. She felt two arms wrap around her, causing tears to spill from her eyes. She heard a faint, "Stay strong, Mei." Which only made her hold onto him tighter, causing him to hold onto her tighter in return.

"Just, please, be smart and come back to me."

He normally wasn't much of a talker or spoke at all, but he felt as though it was necessary to speak a bit today, "I will make every effort to come back to you, Mei." She smiled at his informality with her. He patted her back a bit before he pulled away, stating that he had to make his leave to Konoha now or he would arrive there by night fall. She nodded and as soon as he left, she started crying.

Suigetsu made it to Konoha by sunset but as he made it to the gates, he wasn't greeted with open arms and smiles. Some ANBU surrounded him, telling him to state his business but he didn't answer. Didn't they know why he was here? He took out his Kirigakure headband and tied it around his head, making sure the symbol of his village was facing them. If anyone from Kirigakure saw him, they would say he looked like his brother, Mangetsu.

He always did this when he was preparing for battle, making sure his opponent knew what village destroyed them. He guessed that Mei's message about him coming to help and about the ninja escaping didn't reach Tsunade yet so he prepared himself for battle with the ANBU. He grabbed his sword and stared back at the ninja, eyes tired and bored. He wasn't in the mood to fight with them but it looked like he would have to.

"I repeat, state your business here." Demanded an ANBU

"…"

"You leave us no choice but to see you as a foe. You won't leave here alive!"

Smirk.

That was the closest thing to a smile you could get from Suigetsu, but even that took a lot. This would be a battle of five against one, Suigetsu found it unfair to them. One of them ran at him, jumped and went to kick him when he was grabbed by the throat when he was coming down. Suigetsu barred his teeth and latched onto the man's throat before ripping his head off. He dropped the body and head before he looked at the now terrified faces of the other ANBU.

He wiped the blood off of his face before waiting for his next opponent. Two of them came at him instead of one this time, but Suigetsu was ready. They both were planning on slicing through him with their kunai but just as they were going to make contact, he turned into water and they killed each other. Suigetsu phased back to normal before growing tired of their games, he wanted to end this.

He ran at one of the ninja before engaging in a battle of swords with him, but Suigetsu's skills were far greater than the ANBU's. He knocked the ANBU to the ground before stabbing him so fast, he couldn't even try to defend himself against the attack. He pulled out his sword and stared at the last ninja. He was obviously scared out of his mind but he refused to back down. He was brave, Suigetsu would give him that.

The ninja was about to attack when he jumped back when Suigetsu swung his blade at him. Suigetsu swung his blade again, but this time water followed in suit and knocked the ninja back. Just as the ANBU was going to get up, he looked down to see Suigetsu's sword in his stomach. The ninja was shaking and looked up just in time to see Suigetsu bite his neck and rip his head off. Suigetsu removed his sword and threw the body aside, dragging his bloody sword as he walked into the village wiping blood off his face.

He paid no mind to the people staring and running from them. He was almost at the Hokage's tower when three people stood in his way, a pink haired girl, a blond haired boy, and a raven haired boy. Suigetsu looked at them with a blank expression, he didn't have time to deal with this. The blond haired boy yelled at him, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna kick your butt!"

"…"

The blond was expecting something, _anything_, from Suigetsu but he got nothing in return. Naruto gave a nervous laugh before running at him, Suigetsu already knew what he was going to do. He side stepped and kicked Naruto into a building. The girl gasped and ran towards the blond boy, she felt a presence behind her but didn't have enough time to turn to face the person so she was punched into the same building as Naruto.

Suigetsu faced the other ninja, he looked almost as emotionless as him but Suigetsu could tell it was all an act. Suigetsu analyzed his opponent, he hypothesized that he would be a lightning or fire style shinobi. The Kirigakure native made sure not to let the other know that he was mainly a water style shinobi. He knew he would have to stick to using wind if he wanted to defeat this guy.

The other male pulled out his sword and then ran at him, Suigetsu took notice that he possessed the Sharingan. He must have been Sasuke Uchiha if he had the Sharingan, the last of the Uchiha. Sasuke was about to slash at him when he got knocked back by wind. He got back on his feet and glared at his opponent. He was able to manipulate the wind so that each time he swung his sword, wind would accompany it.

"So, you're a wind style shinobi."

Suigetsu didn't answer, instead, he swiped his hand diagonally across his body while whispering, "Beast wave palm." Sasuke's eyes widened as he tried to get out of the way but the justu came at him so fast that it hit him back into another building while slicing through his skin as well. Suigetsu put his sword on his back and started on his walk to the Hokage's tower again.

Sasuke stumbled out of the building and was about to use a fire style justu against him while his back was turned but Suigetsu knew Sasuke wasn't a fair fighter so he had made a clone walk towards the tower. Sasuke made hand signs and was about to attack when the clone turned into water, causing him to stop his justu. Sasuke eyes widened as he realized that Suigetsu knew what he was going to do all along.

He turned around just in time to get hit with a water style attack, but he could tell that he used his wind nature to amplify the power of the water attack. Sasuke was blasted into another building, only harder than the first time. Sasuke tried to get out but was unable to, he growled angrily as he saw the Kirigakure ninja make his way over to the Hokage tower and walk right in. They had failed to protect the Hokage.

Suigetsu waltzed right in and walked into the Hokage's office, not bothering to knock. She was about to yell at him when she saw his headband and realized who he was. She stared at the man in shock, "S-Suigetsu Hozuki? Wh-what are you doing here?" He walked over to her desk and bowed in respect to her before saying quietly, "Escaped Kirigakure ninja are coming here."

"So, you came here to help now, did you?"

"…"

"I'm sorry about the not so warm welcome, Suigetsu."

"…"

She smirked at him, so the rumors about him not being much of a talker were true, eh? He really didn't speak unless he absolutely had to and when he had to, he only spoke ten words at max. She turned around in her chair to look out the window just in time to see Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke running to the building. She sighed and turned back around, knowing that they would be here soon.

The three barged in and were about to attack when each of their heads were enveloped in water. As the all struggled to hold their breath, they managed to hear Tsunade basically shouted at them, "Not every ninja that comes into the village is going to be an enemy, you know! Just because he's from Kirigakure that doesn't mean he's going to kill all of us! You should have used your words before your fists!" 

She calmed down a bit before nodding at Suigetsu. He nodded in return and released them from his justu, watching as they all gasped for breath. Naruto coughed while glaring at Suigetsu, "W-Who is this guy anyways, Granny?" She shot him a glare of her own before answering with a proud smile, "This is Suigetsu Hozuki of Kirigakure, master swordsmen and Second Coming of the Demon."

Sakura gasped excitedly, "No way! You really are Suigetsu! No wonder we couldn't beat you!" Naruto rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Who's Suigetsu Hozuki anyways? What's so special about this guy?" Sakura punched him in the arm before explaining, "Naruto, you idiot! Suigetsu's one of the best ninja around! He kicked all of our butts, even Sasuke's! He's quiet but so ruthless! I heard he uses his teeth when he fights!"

"No way, really?! Hey, are your teeth sharp or something, Suigetsu?"

Suigetsu only stared back, causing another nervous laugh to emit from him, "Eh, you really don't say much, do you?" Sasuke watched Suigetsu with interest, he had never seen someone so utterly beautiful before. That white hair had the faintest tint of light blue to it, anyone else wouldn't have seen it. Those purple eyes just seemed to peer right into his soul and it exhilarated him. His silence literally spoke a thousand words to Sasuke. This ninja was perfect.

Tsunade chuckled before asking, "Suigetsu, what is their point of attack supposed to be?" The ninja walked over to the map of Konoha and placed his finger where he knew they were going to attack. Suigetsu was a master strategist and knew what his opponent was going to do before they even knew themselves, that's why he was able to defeat even someone with the Sharingan.

The blond woman nodded and questioned, "When do they plan on attacking?" He removed his finger and held up two fingers, indicating that they would arrive in two days. Naruto was scratching his head, wondering why he was holding up two fingers but Sakura explained to him in a huff, "He means that they're coming in two days. You didn't think he was holding up a peace sign at Lady Tsunade, did you?"

As Naruto and Sakura conversed, Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of Suigetsu. Everything about him was so mysterious, causing Sasuke to want nothing more than to know everything about him. Everything about Suigetsu drew him in since he was like no other person he had ever met. He was one of the only people who would defeat him in battle and he wanted a rematch with Suigetsu. He could defeat Itachi but not him?

Tsunade got Team Seven's attention before stating, "You four are going to intercept the ninja here." She pointed to a spot on the map before continuing, "You three will follow Suigetsu's lead, understand? He knows these ninja better than you three so I don't want you arguing with him or trying to do this your own way. You three are to follow Suigetsu's commands, understand me?"

They nodded but were told to stay in the room, allowing Suigetsu to go to the house he was given by Tsunade. She watched as the door was shut before getting serious, "You three need to do whatever he says when he says it, got it? He doesn't speak much but when he does, you better listen to him. He doesn't take it lightly when you argue with or disobey his orders. He's far more ruthless and dangerous than Zabuza or even Yagura."

"Also," she started, "I want you three watching him constantly. He's been depressed ever since the death of his older brother, Mangetsu Hozuki, and ever since Orochimaru raped him. He has never been the same ever since so don't do anything to anger him, got it? He won't hesitate to kill any of you. He just killed five of our best ANBU and that wasn't even him at full power. Mei has told me before that Suigetsu is on the verge of committing suicide so, please, watch over him."

"B-But why would he want to commit suicide?" Asked Sakura.

"He must feel as if he's just a tool at this point."

"The Mizukage is just using him?"

Tsunade sighed before she explained with a frown on her face, "No, Mei does everything in her power to make him feel like he's anything _but_ a tool. She only sends him out on the most dangerous missions. Other than that, he's kept right by her side so she can monitor him. If feeling used isn't the reason he wants to kill himself, then the death of his brother and rape are. No one has been able to help him with his depression, not even me."

Sasuke was shaking in anger, he wouldn't let Suigetsu kill himself and he was furious Orochimaru raped someone like Suigetsu. He was basically fuming when the Hokage sighed, "He was such a happy kid before all that happened too, it's a shame, really. He was a little asshole but I'd rather him be like that than how he is now. I miss the old Suigetsu, the little troublemaking brat instead of this serious one."

She ran her fingers through his hair before she sent them off but before they left she told them to show Suigetsu around and try to get him to talk or smile or something. Naruto vowed to get him to smile if it was the last thing he did, Sakura following her best friend in suit while Sasuke said nothing but they all knew he would try in his own way.

They found Suigetsu walking down the street to his house, how did he know where to go? Naruto ran over to him and asked, "Want to go out tonight, Suigetsu? We're all going to Fangs to let loose and dance! There's supposed to be karaoke tonight so you just gotta come! What do you say?" Suigetsu just looked back at him, face expressionless but Naruto took that as a yes.

He grabbed Suigetsu's hand in an effort to drag him to Fangs but he wound up getting flipped over and onto his back. Naruto was about to yell at him when Sasuke picked him up and covered his mouth, allowing Sakura to say with a sweet smile, "Come on, Suigetsu, it'll be fun. You need to loosen up a bit, okay? Some friends, music, and dancing is just what we all need before the mission, right?"

Again, he said nothing but his eyes looked softer this time. Maybe he needed to relax a little bit before the mission. He hadn't really gone out in a while and thought why not? It wasn't like he was going to sing or dance. He allowed Sakura to grab his hand and lead him to the place known as Fangs. Sasuke didn't know why, but he wanted to chop off Sakura's hand for touching him.

Once they made it to Fangs, they saw that the place was busier than usual. The lights were colorful and switching on and off while different people got up and started singing, some bad and some good. Sakura managed to squeeze Suigetsu through the people and close to the dance, urging him to dance with her but he refused. Sasuke and Naruto weaseled their way through as well, Sasuke claiming a spot next to Suigetsu.

He looked over at the Kirigakure native, smirking to himself. He had finally found another person who would go to a place where everyone was dancing and be that person who wasn't dancing. Heck, Suigetsu wasn't even smiling or cracking a smirk at all the people dancing and singing like fools around him. How could he not crack a smile at Kiba singing "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

As the night went on, Sasuke and Suigetsu refused to dance or sing along with whoever was on stage. Sakura and Naruto would drink but Naruto was starting to drink a little too much. Before they knew it, Naruto had done something to tick the biggest ninja in the building off. Naruto was too drunk to see what he had done and was just about to get punched when the attack was stopped.

Everyone formed a circle around them, gasping as Sasuke stopped the attack with two hands. The other ninja was much stronger than him, two hands were needed to stop the attack. The bigger man grinned before getting ready to punch the Uchiha. Sasuke saw the fist coming for him and knew that no one was going to come to his rescue. He braced himself for the attack before muttering, "Damn it…"

He closed his eyes and was expecting the hit any second now, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, he saw Suigetsu holding back the attack with one hand. His eyes widened at the sight of the arm and hand holding back the attack, it was as big or even bigger than the attacker's arm muscles. The larger man growled in frustration, clearly no one had ever stopped his attack before.

"H-how can this be?!" Questioned the Leaf ninja.

Suigetsu's purple eyes pierced into him, making him take a step back. The white haired ninja showed no emotion as he threw the larger man through the building and out onto the street with one hand. Everyone gasped and stepped away from him, terrified of what else he could do. Sasuke glared at all the people moving away from him, so they were scared of him for protecting them?

"Come on, Suigetsu, let's go."

Sasuke put Naruto's arm around his shoulder and helped the drunk teen out while Suigetsu grabbed Sakura with his still stronger arm and hoisted her over his shoulder. Sasuke stared at the arm, wondering how he did that. Suigetsu saw his glance and took out his water and started sipping at it from the straw, hoping Sasuke would realize he was made of water. He didn't want to have to use words to tell him about it.

Onyx eyes widened as he realized that Suigetsu was made out of water and needed to consume it a lot in order to be able to add strength to his body parts at will. Sasuke smirked at his new comrade, "You really aren't a talker, are you? That's fine. Actions do speak louder than words nowadays, but why did you protect me? Why not let him hit me?"

Suigetsu just stared back at him with dull amethyst eyes, he didn't even know himself but Sasuke didn't know that. The Kirigakure ninja looked forward as they made it to Sakura's house. Suigetsu dropped her by her door before knocking on the door. Sakura's parents opened the door and were greeted by Suigetsu, purple eyes eating into their souls unintentionally.

The mother fainted at the sight of him, knowing exactly who he was. Sakura's father looked down at his drunk daughter before looking back to Suigetsu. Sakura's father bowed his head in thanks before dragging his daughter back into the house. Suigetsu walked back over to Sasuke and looked at the, now, thrashing Naruto. Sasuke was losing his patience and that's when Suigetsu jabbed the blonde's pressure point, making him go still.

"So, you know pressure points, too? I bet you know chakra and chi points as well."

Suigetsu didn't answer, he just stared right back at him. Sasuke took that as a yes, though. They began their walk to Naruto's apartment, but Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about Suigetsu. He knew where pressure points were, and probably chakra and chi points, too. But, only the Byakugan possessed the capability to see those points and hit them right on. Suigetsu was clearly a force to be reckoned with. No wonder everyone from everywhere, except Naruto, knew about him.

Once they reached the apartment, Suigetsu formed his finger into the shape of the key for the door and then turned the water into solid ice. Sasuke's eyes widened at that, wasn't only Haku able to do something like that? He moved his finger around until the door unlocked and he walked in. Sasuke was still in awe, how was Suigetsu able to see the chakra points and turn his water finger into ice?

Suddenly, he felt Suigetsu grab Naruto and place him on the couch, annoyed that Sasuke wouldn't move. The Kirigakure native walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind him, dragging Sasuke with him as he left. Just as the made it into the street, Sasuke removed the hand pulling on him and glared at the ninja before him. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"How are you able to see the chakra points? And use Haku's justu?"

"…"

"Answer me."

"…"

Sasuke was beyond annoyed with Suigetsu at this point. There was no reason for him not to talk to him now, especially because no one was here but the two of them. Sasuke stepped closer to the other as he hissed with venom, "You have no reason to not talk. I want answers. You can use Haku's kekkei genkai and I have a right to know how you can use it. You're hiding something. I have questions and you _will_ answer-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence due to the fact that Suigetsu had him pinned to the nearest wall by his throat. How had they gotten so close to the wall? They were just in the middle of the street! Sasuke refused to thrash, but that didn't mean he couldn't claw at the hand that held him against the wall. Suigetsu's eyes turned cold, frightening even Sasuke but in a way, his eyes looked so beautiful.

Sasuke tried to push the feelings of butterflies out of his stomach, why was he feeling like this? Suigetsu leaned in and whispered almost inaudibly in the young Uchiha's ear, "I don't owe you anything." His voice sent shivers down the Sharingan user's eyes, both in a frightening and lustrous way. His voice was perfect for him, he wished Suigetsu would talk more but he knew that was highly unlikely.

He was released from the other's grasp, gasping for air on the ground before Suigetsu. He looked up into those depressed purple eyes and remembered what Tsunade had said about him. He averted his gaze with the standing ninja. Suigetsu wasn't always like this, he remembered. Suigetsu was someone else before this, before Kirigakure made him like this. Sasuke wanted to meet the other Suigetsu, the _real_ Suigetsu.

"What happened to you?" Sasuke still didn't look at him.

Suigetsu was walking away when he heard the small voice ask that. He instantly stopped before he turned to Sasuke. He walked back over and kneeled down, putting a hand under his chin and forcing him to make eye contact with him. Sasuke noticed that those once emotionless eyes had grown softer, putting the Uchiha at ease a bit. He watched as Suigetsu put a finger on his headband.

_Kirigakure_, thought Sasuke. Suigetsu lifted the other ninja onto his feet, nodding at him before starting to walk away. Sasuke ran in front of him, causing the other to stop and look at him as he stated firmly, "I know you don't say much but I _will_ get you to talk. I _want_ to hear your voice, Suigetsu. You may not want to but I'll get you to talk, one way or another. That's a promise."

Suigetsu just gave him a smirk in return, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen as he gasped. The Kirigakure native walk by him, not even once looking back at Sasuke. Sasuke just smiled as he watched the other go home. Suigetsu was interesting to him, and it was hard to peek the Uchiha's interest nowadays. He walked home alone, that smile never leaving his face.

The next day was spend getting ready for the mission. Suigetsu was already prepared so he decided to rest and hydrate so he would be ready for tomorrow. Sakura went to go prepare for the mission with Naruto. Actually, Sakura was ready but Naruto wasn't and he was going to need some help since he had nothing ready. Sasuke was currently standing in front of Suigetsu's front door, wondering if he should knock or not.

Sasuke was about to knock on the door but he chickened out and ended up walking back home. Little did he know, Suigetsu was waiting for him to knock on the other side of the door. He let out a soft sigh, putting his back to the door and allowing himself to slide down to sit on the floor. He pulled out his water bottle and began sipping some. He couldn't attract feelings for Sasuke, he didn't want to but he knew he was.

The day of the mission, they all met at the entrance of the Leaf village and headed out where the missing ninja would be. They started out walking until they reached a forest, jumping from tree to tree instead. They were in a diamond formation, Suigetsu leading with Sasuke and Naruto across from each other and Sakura in the back. Sasuke would glance at the white haired teen out of the corner of his eye every now and then, earning a smirk from Suigetsu when Sasuke wasn't looking.

When they reached a stopping point by a river, Suigetsu instantly took out his water bottle and began drinking. Naruto instantly jumped into the river and started swimming and splashing about. Sakura and Sasuke sat down on a rock, Sasuke refusing to talk to her. Suigetsu looked at the three of them, they were dysfunctional and none of them were really similar but they made a relatively good family.

_Family_. Suigetsu let out a quiet sigh, he missed Mangetsu more and more every day. He wanted to see his brother again. Suigetsu's grip tightened on the bottle, thinking angrily, _'Why did you leave me here, Mangetsu? Mom and dad are gone and now you leave me, too? Why did you have to die? Why did you do this to me? I don't think I can go on much longer without you, brother…'_

He felt lightheaded and weak, he was dehydrated. Drinking water wouldn't help fast enough this time, they needed to take more breaks since the weather was much warmer than it was in Kirigakure. He needed to unite with the river water if he wanted to be able to last longer when they traveled. The three other ninja watched as Suigetsu walked over to the river, crouched down and touched the water with one finger, gasping as he turned into water.

He was enveloped by the river water, letting it heal him and allow for him to rest. Naruto was in awe but managed to exclaim excitedly, "Did you guys just see that?! He just turned into water! He's the river now! That's so cool!" Sakura smiled and shook her head at her friend while Sasuke just rolled his eyes, clearly Naruto hadn't seen him do that when they were fighting in the village.

After a few minutes, water from the river slithered out and started to take the form of a person. Dull purple eyes emerged from the water before the rest of Suigetsu's features appeared. Everyone stared at him, simply amazed by what he could do. Sasuke wasn't as amazed as the others since he knew that Suigetsu was also capable of performing justus of the ice release, like Haku.

Suigetsu looked at his team before turning from them and walking down a trial, causing them to grab their things and follow him in a hurry. After hours of traveling, they decided to camp out in a forest by a river for the night. They would encounter the missing Kirigakure ninja for sure. Suigetsu was taking the first watch, allowing his comrades to get some sleep. He sat with his back against the tree near the fire, looking at his three teammates sleeping peacefully.

He would make sure he kept good watch over them and protected them if an ambush were to happen. Normally, Suigetsu wouldn't have cared about his teammates but these people were curious about him, looked up to him, and honestly wanted to get to know who he was. Suigetsu smirked, too bad he wasn't much of a talker anymore. Before, he would have told them his whole life story but that was before everything happened.

Sometimes, Suigetsu missed talking to people but he struggled with words and smiles now, sticking with smirks. The only time he could smile at ease was when he was being enveloped by his demon chakra, grinning like a madman and wanting nothing more than to kill everyone in sight. When he went into his demon mode, there was no one who could stop him until he just ran out of opponents.

"What are you thinking about?"

Suigetsu's head snapped in the direction of the voice, Sasuke. The Uchiha was getting into an upright position in his sleeping bag, but refused to look away from the white haired ninja. Suigetsu didn't say anything, he just stared back at him with cold purple eyes, wanting him to go back to sleep. Sasuke smirked at him, he wasn't going to go back to sleep until he got an answer and Suigetsu realized that now.

The Kirigakure native looked up at the stars in the sky, they looked so free just like he knew his family was. Sasuke shifted his gaze to the stars as well, unsure what Suigetsu was trying to say by doing that. The fanged ninja continued to stare at the stars, he wanted to smile because he knew that Mangetsu and the rest of his family was just there looking down at him. He blinked before he turned to look at the fire, would his family be proud of him?

He had changed so much, would his family even like what he became? He wasn't even sure if he liked who he was. Sure, being serious was good but being serious all the time was beginning to take its toll on him. Suigetsu wanted to be able to be himself all the time but it was so hard to find the old him nowadays. All he knew was conceal, don't feel, just kill everything in sight and complete the mission.

Sasuke watched the other have a battle in his mind, fighting out his inner demons in front of the Uchiha. Sasuke wondered if he should go back to sleep or not and judging how Suigetsu was so lost in this thoughts, he definitely wasn't going to get anything out of him this time. He laid back down and snuggled up in his sleeping bag. He closed his eyes before whispered before he fell asleep, "I will get you to talk, Suigetsu."

Suigetsu heard it but paid no mind to it. He rested the back of his head on the tree and closed his eyes, trying to escape the world around him in any way he could. He sighed, feeling a light sleep wash over him, a dream that held the memory of how his parents died. He didn't have much longer until Sasuke would come and relieve him of keeping watch and his hearing was good enough that he could wake up at the slightest sound.

_Suigetsu's dream:_

_He was in Kirigakure and he was young again. He smiled as he played nearby a pond with Mangetsu, their parents watching them from their house. Suigetsu ran over to his brother and poked him, yelling as he ran by him, "Race you to the pond, Mangetsu!" The elder Hozuki grinned and chased after his little brother, calling after him, "I'm gonna beat you, Sui! Better run faster!"_

_Suigetsu just laughed and ran as fast as his little legs would carry him but Mangetsu was still able to catch up and run past him. Suigetsu tried to catch up but he knew he wasn't going to be able to. Mangetsu jumped into the pond and did a victory dance before being joined by his brother, who accepted defeat and gave him a round of applause before smirking and splashing Mangetsu._

_Their parents watched them play with smiles on their faces, their father wrapping an arm around their mother's shoulder. The brothers continued to splash each other until they heard a shrill scream emit from their mother. They looked over to see a ninja in a black cloak fighting against their father, their mother barely clinging to life on the ground with a sword stabbed through her chest._

"_M-Mangetsu… protect your b-brother… h-he's all you have… I l-love you both…"_

_Suigetsu hid behind his brother, not wanting to watch the light fade from his mother's purple eyes as she died. Mangetsu felt two little hands grab onto his shirt, he looked behind him to see tears flooding his little brother's eyes. He knew he had to protect Suigetsu no matter what, even if he had to die. Another scream caused the two to look up to see a sword slice their father in half._

_Suigetsu screamed at the sight, tears streaming down his face. Mangetsu just stood there, mouth wide in shock. Their parents were dead and they were next. The ninja came running at them, but Mangetsu was determined to protect his little brother, the only family he had left. He made hand signs before whispering a justu, water shooting out at the enemy and knocking him back into their house._

_Suigetsu poked his head out from behind his brother before hiding behind him again as the ninja came back, limping a bit. Mangetsu commanded, "Don't leave the water, okay, Sui? I'm going to protect you." Before Suigetsu could even say anything, Mangetsu was running at the enemy with a kunai in his hand. He watched as his older brother held his own against his opponent, but he was kicked back into a tree._

_The ninja ran at him and held him down, planning on killing him as well. Mangetsu turned his head and locked eyes with Suigetsu, his little brother was crying and his eyes looked frightened but on the brink of insanity. Suigetsu watched as the man pulled his arm back, getting ready to stab his brother, and that's when Suigetsu lost it. He screamed in anger as purple chakra surrounded his body, resembling a demon._

_Suigetsu barred his fangs as he ran at the enemy and punched him away from his brother. He grabbed Mangetsu's kunai and held it in his mouth, just like Zabuza, and ran at the ninja. Blinded by pure anger and hatred, Suigetsu landed blow for blow on his opponent, showing no mercy as he slit the man's throat. He turned from his opponent to see Mangetsu staring back at him, shocked at what he had done._

"_It's okay, Sui, it's me, Mangetsu. It's okay now, we're safe."_

_The chakra reluctantly disappeared, Suigetsu falling to the ground out of exhaustion. Just as Mangetsu was going to come over to him, he was pinned against a tree and forced to stay against it by a net. Mangetsu fought to get free but the net would eat at his chakra if he tried to move around too much. Suigetsu was going to help his brother when he was pinned to the ground._

_Suigetsu closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was staring into the eyes of Orochimaru. He looked around and Mangetsu and himself were their normal ages again. Kabuto walked over to Mangetsu, kunai in hand, and was smirking as he spoke to their elder Hozuki. Whatever Kabuto had said caused Mangetsu to thrash even more. Suigetsu looked up just in time to see that Orochimaru was naked above him._

_When he looked down, he found that he was naked too. He fought against the snake man and screamed bloody murder when he was entered ruthlessly. He cried out for anyone to save him, to stop the pain but Mangetsu couldn't get free, all he could do was watch as he little brother was raped in front of him. Suigetsu felt hot tears run down his face as he begged for Orochimaru to stop, but he didn't. The snake man just grinned and purred in his ear, " Suigetsu…"_

"_Suigetsu… Suigetsu… Suigetsu! SUIGETSU!"  
_

SUIGETSU! The Kirigakure native's eyes opened and he immediately went into attack mode and made fast hand signs yelling, "Secret justu: a thousand needles of death!" Water from the river shot out and turned into needles of ice, aiming right at whoever was attacking him, or who he _thought_ was attacking him. Just as the needles were going to strike his enemies he heard a familiar voice yell, "Suigetsu, stop it! It's me, Sasuke!"

His eyes widened, the justu failing and the needles just turned into water. Suigetsu blinked a few times before seeing that he was about to kill his three teammates. Sasuke was standing in front of Naruto and Sakura, ready to take the hit for them. Naruto held Sakura, determined to protect her if anything got by Sasuke. He looked at them, eyes growing cold and dull again to hide how scared he was that he almost killed them.

"HEY! What's the big idea?! Are you crazy or something?! You almost killed us!" 

Suigetsu just looked back at him, not planning on answering unless he absolutely had to. Naruto growled and marched over to him growling, "Look, I've had it with your serious and uncaring attitude towards us! We're your team for now so you defend us just like we'll protect you! Just because you got raped and your brother's dead, doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! Stop looking for pity!"

Sakura snapped, she ran over to him and punched him into a tree. She slapped him before she hissed, "Why would you say something like that to him?! You don't know what he's been through! You don't know how it feels to be like him, Naruto! Stop acting like a know it all! You don't know a thing about him! Now go and apologize to him!"

Naruto hung his head in shame, he hadn't meant what he said to Suigetsu. He was just furious at the fact that Suigetsu almost killed them because he thought they were the enemy. Suigetsu must have been having a nightmare and when he was woken up, he must have thought he was still in the dream and had to get out. Naruto walked over to the Kirigakure ninja and said softly, "I'm… I'm sorry about what I said, Suigetsu. Can you forgive me?"

The blond gasped as he felt a cold hand on his shoulder, he looked at the hand before looking into those purple eyes, they seemed softer. Naruto gave a grin and Suigetsu nodded back, letting him know that he already forgave him. He removed his hand and motioned for them to follow him so they could meet the missing ninja and take them down.

As they moved on, Sasuke couldn't fight the butterfly feeling he got in his stomach. It was so new for him to feel something other than hate for someone. Sasuke wondered if what he was feeling for Suigetsu was love. If it was love, would Suigetsu feel the same way about him? Did Suigetsu even know what it felt like to be in love or to even love someone besides a family member? All these questions popped up in Sasuke's mind and he wasn't sure he had answers for them all.

After another hour, Suigetsu stopped them in a grass opening, across the opening more forest could be seen. Everyone got in a fighting stance, except for Suigetsu who grabbed his sword and stabbed it into the ground. Within moments, multiple ninja appeared before, half of them wearing Kirigakure headbands while the other half were missing ninja from other villages along the way.

Suigetsu waited a moment, forming a strategy in his mind, before making hand signs and whispering, "Ninja art: hidden mist justu." Suigetsu opened his mouth and mist flowed out, surrounding them all in seconds. Sakura looked over to her other two teammates before saying to them, "The thickness of the mist is controlled by Suigetsu's chakra so it will be difficult to see them unless you're from Blood Mist village so be careful! And Sasuke, your Sharingan won't work."

Sasuke let out a slight growl, so Suigetsu was going to make the fight almost fair for everyone now. They heard the sound out a sword being yanked from the ground and then they heard the sound of a sword slashing through flesh, followed by the sound of bodies falling to the ground. The Leaf ninja nodded and attacked their enemies together, preferring a group since their eyes weren't as good as Suigetsu's in the mist.

The battle seemed too easy, much too easy to Suigetsu. Just as he finished slashing through a ninja, he heard the screams of each of his comrades. He turned to see the last four missing ninja, two from Kirigakure and two from various villages. Three of them were holding his teammates against their bodies tight enough where they could hardly move or even think to attack back.

The remaining ninja smirked as he demanded, "I have your teammates, Suigetsu Hozuki, surrender now or they will die. And don't even try to use water on us or they'll be dead." Suigetsu looked at Sakura, who nodded back at him, before smirking and slashing his sword across at her, using the wind release vacuum sword as she managed to turn so that her captor took the hit.

The Kirigakure ninja that took the hit collapsed to the ground, allowing Sakura to become free. Sakura ran over to the ninja holding Naruto and punched him into the ground, ultimately freeing him as well. The two of them moved on to free Sasuke together but just as the three were going to be reunited, the last ninja grabbed Sasuke from behind and held a kunai up to his neck.

"Get back, all of you! Get back or I'll slit his throat open!"

Naruto and Sakura stood behind Suigetsu, who was furious that the ninja had taken what belonged to him. The ninja put the kunai closer to the pale skin, accidentally drawing blood and causing Sasuke to hiss in pain. Suigetsu's eyes widened at the sight of Sasuke's blood slowly going down his neck. Purple eyes glared at the man, causing the missing ninja to take an accidental step back and cut into his skin even more, drawing more blood and more hisses of pain from Sasuke.

Suigetsu was done, he had enough of watching those around him get hurt. He wasn't going to be weak anymore. He was going to carry out his last mission and protect those that mattered to him now. He let out a deep breath before closing his eyes and giving in to the demon inside. When he opened his eyes, purple chakra swirled all around him and his eyes held a look of pure bloodlust.

Naruto and Sakura backed away from him, frightened that he would come after them if he remembered they were close to him. The ninja holding Sasuke dropped the kunai and stumbled backwards onto the ground, terrified of the sight in front of him. Sasuke put a hand to his throat and quickly made his way over to Sakura, who instantly started to heal the cut on his neck.

"You won't leave here alive!" Shouted a demon-like voice of Suigetsu.

The ninja watched in fear as Suigetsu made hand signs and snarled, "Secret justu: crystal ice mirrors!" Multiple mirrors of ice appeared before the man, showing nothing but the demonic Suigetsu in the mirrors. The ninja was shaking terribly, he was scared for his life right now. He dropped to his knees and cried, "I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry!"

The three ninja outside the mirrors heard Suigetsu growl, "It's too late for that!" All they could do was listen as they were flesh get cut into by swords or tore apart by teeth. Suigetsu was putting that ninja through hell for hurting Sasuke. Sakura had to cover her ears at one point because she couldn't stand the screaming from the enemy ninja. Naruto held her and rocked her back and forth, equally as scared as she was.

Suddenly, they heard the noise of a body dropping to the ground, lifeless. The ice mirrors slowly disappeared and Suigetsu was left standing, the purple demon-like chakra still present. Suigetsu looked over to his teammates and ran over to them, wanting to kill them since he was still hunting for blood. When he got in front of them he took a step back at the sight of Naruto drawing a kunai and pointing it at him, "We're your friends, Suigetsu! Snap out of it!"

Before anyone could do anything, Sasuke shot up and wrapped his arms around the Kirigakure ninja, hugging him close. Suigetsu fought back at first until he eventually settled his head in the crook of Sasuke's neck. As Sasuke calmed him down, the purple chakra that enveloped his body started to disappear. He looked up at Sasuke, a slight blush appearing on both of their faces. Just as Sasuke was about to kiss him, Suigetsu pulled away and grabbed his water bottle.

He began sipping the water as he walked by them, retracting the mist justu as he headed for the forest. The other three watched him in shock, he was just going to go back to Konoha like that? No rest? This guy was unbelievable. Sakura looked at the back of Suigetsu with sad eyes, so all her really did know was to complete the mission and nothing more. She honestly felt sorry for him.

The three of them trudged behind their squad leader, unhappy that they were not able to change Suigetsu on the mission. They walked back to their previous campsite and made it there by dark, Suigetsu taking first watch again. Once Suigetsu was certain his teammates were asleep, he grabbed a rope from Naruto's bag, he had secretly put it in their since Naruto would never notice it.

He crept away from their campsite in search of the perfect tree with just the right branch for him to hang himself. He didn't feel as though he could continue on in life anymore. His depression was spiraling out of control and no one was ever able to bring him out of it. Once Suigetsu found the right tree, he let out a deep sigh. So this is it.

Sasuke, feeling a presence was missing, got out of his sleeping back and found Suigetsu missing. He wandered around until he saw Suigetsu facing the moon singing, _"Just an average _boy, he_ always wore a smile, _he_ was cheerful and happy for a short while._ _Now_ he's _older, things are getting colder. Life's not what _he_ thought _he_ wished someone had told _him_. _He_ told you _he _was down, you let it slip by so from then on _he_ kept it on the inside."_

The Uchiha just listened and watched Suigetsu sing his life story with sad eyes,_ "_He_ told _himself_ that _he_ was alright but _he_ was telling white lies. Can't you tell? Look at _his_ dull eyes. Tried to stop _himself_ from crying almost every night but _he_ knew there was no chance of feeling alright. Summer came by, all _he_ wore were long sleeves cause those cuts on _his_ wrists were bleeding though, you see."_

He heard Suigetsu sigh before he continued, _"_He_ knew _he _was depressed, didn't want to admit it. Didn't think _he_ fit it, everyone seemed to miss it. _He_ carried on like a soldier with a battle wound, bleeding out from every cut _his_ body consumed. _He_ had no friends at school, all alone _he_ sat and if someone were to notice _he_ would blame the cat. But those cuts on _his_ wrist, they were no mistake but no one cared enough to save _him_ from the self-hate."_

Suigetsu tightened his grip on the rope in his hand as he went on, _"Things were going down, never really up and here _he_ is now stuck in this stupid rut._ He _knew exactly what _he_ had to do next, just stand on the chair and tie the rope around _his_ neck._ He _wrote a letter with _his_ hands shaking wild…"_ He grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and sang wildly, _"Look at me now, aren't you proud of your precious child?!"_

Sasuke gasped, was Suigetsu going to kill himself? He watched as Suigetsu jumped into the tree and sat on a branch singing, _"But _he _knew_ his_ parents weren't the ones to blame, it was the world that should bow down its head in shame. _He _stood up on the chair and looked out at the moon. Just don't think, it'll all be over soon. The chair fell down as _he_ took _his_ final breath. It's all over, all gone, now _he's_ greeting death._"

The raven watched in horror as Suigetsu finished making the noose, holding it in his hand as he sang sadly, _"_Mei_ walks in, she falls down to the floor and now nothing can take back what she just saw. Her little_ boy_ that she raised is just hanging there. _His _skin is pale and _his_ face is violently bare. She sees the note and unfolds it with care. All does is stare, 'how can this be fair?' She starts reading as the tears roll down her face…"_

Suigetsu opened the piece of paper and sang the words on the note, _"'I'm sorry, _Mei, _ put this world is just not my place. I've tried for so long to fix this and fit in. I've come to realize that this world is full of sin. There's nothing for me here, I'm just a waste of space. I've got no reason to stay here with this awful race. It's a disgrace, I was misplaced, born in the wrong time and in the wrong place."_

Tears welled up in both of their eyes as Suigetsu kept reading, _"It's okay, though, cause you'll see me soon. You'll know when your time has come, just look at the moon as it shines bright and throughout the night and remember everyone's facing their own fight. But I can't deal with the pain, I'm not a fighter. You'll make it through the night, just hug your pillow tighter. So let the world know that I died in vain cause the world around me is the one to blame."_

They both felt tears trying to make their escape from their eyes as Suigetsu brushed upon bits of his past and relationship to Mei, _"And I know in a year you'll forget I'm gone cause I'm not really something to be dwelled on. That's what they used to tell me, all those kids at school. So I'm going by the law, majority rules. My presence on this earth is not needed any longer and if anything, I hope this makes you stronger."_

As Suigetsu read his final part to Mei, he bursted into tears, _"You're the best friend that I ever had, such a shame that I had to make you so very sad. But just remember that you meant everything to me and to my heart, you're the only one that held the key. Now it's time to go, I'm running out of space to write and, yes, I lost my fight but, please, just hold on tight. I'm watching over you from the clouds above and sending down the purest and whitest dove to watch over you and be my helpful eye…"_

Suigetsu put the noose around his neck before taking, what he thought, were his last few breaths. He looked at the moon before he wiped his eyes, wanting to not go out crying. Once the tears were gone and he was sure that there would be no tear stains, he took one more deep breath. He closed his eyes before dropping the paper and whispering, _"So this is it world, goodbye…"_

Just as Suigetsu jumped off, Sasuke was running with a kunai in his hand to stop him. Suigetsu was just about to break his neck when Sasuke cut the rope and caught him, tumbling to the ground until Sasuke had Suigetsu pinned underneath him. Fresh tears poured down his face as he thrashed under Sasuke screaming, "Why can't you just let me die?! Why, Sasuke?! Please just let me die!"

Sasuke allowed for the white haired ninja to fight against him until he stopped and just laid beneath him sobbing. Sasuke sighed and lifted Suigetsu into a sitting up position, wrapping his arms around the other's slender waist for a hug. Suigetsu wrapped his arms around the raven's neck, not caring that he was breaking his usually stoic character. Sasuke knew that this is what Suigetsu needed all along, someone to get him to let it all out.

Once the Kirigakure native was sure that he was done crying, he loosened the rope around his neck so that he could take it off. Sasuke nuzzled the other's cheek, letting him know that he wasn't alone and that he truly cared for the other. Suigetsu gave the faintest of smiles as he felt Sasuke kiss his cheek. So, someone actually cared for a mess like him?

"I want to be with you. You need me as much as I need you." Stated Sasuke.

Suigetsu's breath hitched, did he really mean that? Sasuke wiped the tears that were trying to make their journey down Suigetsu's face. He kissed the other's forehead before saying, "You care about me and I care about you. I know you feel something for me, otherwise your heart wouldn't be beating as fast as it is now. My heart is beating just as fast, can't you tell? That's how fast it beats when you're around someone you love."

"Y-You love me? W-Why?"

"Because you're perfectly imperfect. You don't think you're perfect, but you are to me."

"S-Sasuke, I…"

"You don't need to say anything but yes to my next question…"

Sasuke leaned in and asked, "Can I kiss you?" Suigetsu was taken back but nodded anyways, wanting to see if Sasuke could speak through actions. Suigetsu felt a warm pair of lips on his own and he kissed back with just as much passion as Sasuke. The Uchiha bit the other's lower lip and Suigetsu shyly allowed entrance, allowing Sasuke to take control of the kiss.

The white haired ninja soon found himself on his back again with Sasuke on top of him, pouring everything he had into their kiss and Suigetsu doing his best to return the emotion. The raven moved down and began marking Suigetsu has his on his neck, earning moans from the Kirigakure native. When he was satisfied with the love bite, he kissed it and moved back up to kissing his newfound lover.

Suddenly, Sasuke found himself on his back and Suigetsu was on top of him, grinding into his erect manhood. Sasuke groaned at what Suigetsu was doing to him, God did Suigetsu know what he was doing or what? Suigetsu pulled away from the kiss only to say a few words that made Sasuke's eyes widen almost to the point of going out of his head, "Make love to me."

"If that's what I must do to show my love, then let's do it."

_**In The Morning….**_

By morning, Sasuke and Suigetsu were back at camp, tired from last night's events. Once everyone was ready, they continued on their way back to Konoha, Sasuke and Suigetsu walking hand in hand. Suigetsu had a slight blush on his face and Sasuke just wore a cocky smirk, finally he found someone he would want to spend the rest of his life with.

When they made it back to Konoha, Suigetsu squinted at the sight of what looked to be Mei. He raced forward, leaving the other three behind. When he got to the entrance, his eyes widened at the sight of Mei, what was she doing here? The Mizukage gasped and ran towards him, hugging him close to her as she cried, "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Mei, what are you doing here?" 

She pulled away but kept her hands on his shoulders as she answered, "I came here because I thought you would try to kill yourself on the mission and I wanted to bring your body back to Kirigakure." She hugged him once more and whispered, "You scared me so much. You need help, Suigetsu, please let us help you. I miss the old you. You were so happy and such an asshole but I loved you like that."

When she pulled away again, he could see the tears welling up in her eyes. He gasped, knowing that he truly meant something to her and he had been selfish enough to try to leave her. If he left her, she would feel the same way he did when Mangetsu died. He knew he couldn't do that to her and he knew that had to let people help him. He needed to talk more so people knew how he felt and how they could try to assist him.

Sasuke and the others walked over just in time to see Suigetsu hug Mei and cry into her shoulder. She was taken back by him hugging her but she wrapped her arms around him with a gentle smile on her face, he was starting to open up a little more. Suigetsu sobbed words from his letter into her, "You're the best friend that I ever had… I can't deal with the pain, Mei, I'm not a fighter…"

Sasuke's eyes widened at the fact that he had used some of the words he had said in his letter but he was feeling more comfortable hearing Suigetsu speak more than ten words or less for once. Everyone watched as Suigetsu pulled back from her, wiping away his tears and his eyes growing softer. Mei waited for him to speak with that same gentle smile on her face.

"I want to be better. Will you help me?"

_**One Year Later….**_

It had been one year since everything went down and Suigetsu was basically like his old self again. His skills were still a force to be reckoned with, even more so than before actually. He had been with Sasuke for a year and couldn't have been happier. Mei had actually allowed him to stay in Konoha but he had to be in Kirigakure for at least a week every month, occasionally two weeks if things weren't going well there.

Suigetsu was actually a squad leader for three genin in Konoha, two boys and one girl. The girl was Kei and was as sweet as can be, but she had a determined attitude like Naruto. She had long blond hair with two blue streaks in the hair around her face, making her blue eyes pop more. She was training to be a medical ninja with Ino after training with Suigetsu, looking up to Ino so much that she even dressed similar to her as a genin.

The two boys were Yukio and Kano, the best of friends. Yukio was an optimist and a hard worker, always trying to do the best that he could at everything. Yukio had three blue wave like tattoos on his face, indicating what clan he was from. He also had hair like Kiba's and electric green eyes. Kano was different, he was a happy-go-lucky kid like the others but his hair was a dark green with bits of orange with a pair of bright red eyes.

Lucky for Suigetsu, all three of his students possessed a water nature but Kano could already use lightning as well. Each of the three were very familiar with their squad leader and what he could do, learning so much more each day with him. The three of them would always thank Suigetsu after every training session, valuing everything he taught them. His three genin were obedient, loyal, and overall a lot of fun so Suigetsu made sure he was good to them in return.

Suigetsu even took them with him to Kirigakure when he had to go so they could train in a different surrounding, mist. Each time they would go to Kirigakure, they would train in the mist, Suigetsu never going easy on them because their opponent never would, especially if they were from Kirigakure. His genin were learning, he would give them that but they weren't ready to take on multiple Kirigakure ninja.

At the moment, it was Suigetsu against his three genin, using the same method of training Kakashi did with Team 7 when they were first starting out. But they were fast learners and understood that his training session was about team work and they needed to cooperate if they wanted to get the bells from their sensei. Suigetsu smirked at his students once he saw them all nod at each other, approving of their strategy.

Yukio ran at him first, intending to distract Suigetsu and keep him busy but they didn't know that their sensei was already so many steps ahead of them. Suigetsu already knew what they were going to do since the moment Yukio ran at him, they weren't going to win against him. Yukio pulled out a kunai and swung at his sensei, trying to get him to liquefy so Kano could get him.

But he gasped when his kunai was met with the executioner blade instead, this was not what they had expected. Suigetsu smirked at Yukio's almost panicked expression on his face. While Yukio kept Suigetsu busy, Kano jumped out to strike from above while Kei came in for a ground attack at the same time. The two were determined to get the bells from their sensei and pulled out their kunais to attack.

Once they were about to land blows, Suigetsu made hand signs with one hand and two clones appeared with kunais to hold off their attacks. The two gasped and jumped back from the clones, trying to figure out a new plan. Yukio jumped back and raced over to his teammates. Suigetsu absorbed his clones back into his body and waited for his students to formulate a new strategy.

When they were all set, they nodded and took off at their sensei all at once but had Kano and Yukio from the sides and Kei attacking straight on. So, they were planning on trying to overwhelm him by attacking all at once, were they? Suigetsu anticipated it and knew that they were going to do this so he made quick hand signs before saying, "Water style: tornado of water!"

The three ninja were coming in too fast to stop themselves from getting caught in the water that swirled around Suigetsu like a tornado. They were knocked back to the ground, earning cuts from the wind that accompanied Suigetsu's justu. They watched from the ground as the water slowly evaporated or went back into their sensei. They struggled to get up but all three of them managed.

Suigetsu eyed each of his students, each of them breathing heavily from all the effort they were putting into their attacks. He could tell that they were already thinking of a new plan when he spoke with a small smile, "That's enough for the day. You've all done well. I know that you were unable to get the bells but that was only a slight part of what I actually wanted you three to do. I wanted you three to work together and you did so I'm satisfied."

"But Suigetsu-sensei, we failed each time we-"

"Kei, I'm an A rank shinobi, you're going to fail against me."

"Well, yeah but-"

"Your strategies were well thought out but could use a little more work."

Kei was always like this, always wanting to do better and disappointed in herself if she or her team failed. Yukio was disappointed with himself, you could see it on his face. Kano just smiled back at his sensei, hiding the frustration he felt behind it. Suigetsu shook his head at them with a smile, "We'll work on it tomorrow okay? Training is done with for today, unless you'd like to stay and-"

"Can we stay?" Asked all three of them.

"Suigetsu," started a familiar voice, "you're not in Kirigakure, let these kids have a day off." Everyone turned to se Sasuke walking over, a smirk plastered on his face at Suigetsu rolling his eyes. Kei giggled and the boys rolled their eyes as Sasuke grabbed Suigetsu and drew him in for a kiss. When they pulled away, Suigetsu hissed, "Sasuke, not in front of my squad! They won't take me seriously"

As if on cue, Kano and Yukio skipped around the two older ninja singing, "Sasuke and sensei sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Then comes marriage! Then comes a ninja in the baby carriage!" Sasuke just shook his head at the sight of his lover chasing after two of his students, yelling about how he was going to kill them but they were all laughing.

Kei walked over to Sasuke and stood beside him, watching the three of them run around. She looked up at him before she asked, "So, are you going to marry him one day? You two are perfect for each other." Sasuke's face instantly turned red but he answered anyways, "One day I do plan on marrying him and, yes, you can be the flower girl, Kei."

The girl broke out into a happy dance, causing the three boys to stop running and stare at her. Once she saw that everyone was watching her, she ran after her team, yelling at them for judging her dance moves. Sasuke just smiled at the sight before him, Suigetsu was actually smiling and laughing again and being an asshole. Finally, Suigetsu found a place where he could be himself again.

The next day, Suigetsu was leaving with his squad for Kirigakure but Sasuke decided to accompany them so he could help train Kano in lightning style justus. When they arrived, Sasuke took the squad to Suigetsu's home in Kirigakure while he went to visit Mei. He knocked on the door repeatedly and as obnoxiously as he could, smirking as he heard Mei yell, "SUIGETSU!"

He came in laughing at her reaction to his knocking, and she couldn't help but giggle too. AS they conversed about everything that's been going on, she noticed just how much happier he was since the last time she saw him. But every time Suigetsu came here, he always trained and nothing else. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, "Suigetsu, I want you to visit your family today."

"Mei, they're gone. Don't you remember?"

"I know but I want you to visit them in the cemetery. You haven't been there in years."

"…"

"You know they would love to hear about how good your life is now."

He looked at her hand before looking into her eyes, he knew she was right. He hadn't gone to the cemetery since Mangetsu's death and that had been a while ago. He nodded at her and she released him from her grasp. He bowed to her in respect before turning and leaving but just before he left, he whispered, "Thank you." Knowing she would hear it.

Suigetsu didn't plan on bringing his whole squad and Sasuke with him to the cemetery, they all just wanted to be there for him. When they reached the Hozuki graves, Suigetsu dropped to his knees and stared at his parents' combined gravestone: "Mugetsu and Mizu Hozuki: Fought to the death to protect their sons, Mangetsu and Suigetsu. They are missed and loved by their sons."

He looked to the right and tears flooded his eyes at the sight of Mangetsu's gravestone: "Mangetsu Hozuki: Gave his life protecting his village. He is missed, loved, and remembered by his little brother, Suigetsu." His lover and students watched as his shoulders shook, feeling sad that they saw him in such a vulnerable state. He didn't want to look weak in front of his team but he couldn't help it at this point.

He looked at his parents' gravestone before saying, "Father… Mother… I'm sorry I haven't come to see you in a while. It's been… difficult since you and Mangetsu left. But, I'm better now. I lost myself for a while after Mangetsu died and I was raped but I managed to find myself again thank to Sasuke and everyone else. You'd like Sasuke. You'd think he was something special when he's just a dick half the time."

Everyone giggled at what Suigetsu said but contained themselves when he looked over to Mangetsu's grave. He felt more tears sting at his eyes until they poured out without him even having to blink. He was always close with Mangetsu so just being back in front of that grave made him remember all the good times he ever had with his brother. Oh, how he missed Mangetsu.

Suigetsu wiped the tears away before be continued, "Mangetsu… I know you didn't want to leave me that day. I don't blame you for leaving me even though sometimes I do but it's all empty words and thoughts. I miss you more and more every day, my protector. You kept me safe through it all and for a while I had no one but myself to look after… but now, I do. I have Sasuke and, God, do I love him. You'd get along with him so well cause you're an asshole, too."

More giggling erupted amongst everyone, but Sasuke smirked. Suigetsu smiled as he finished, "Kirigakure will always hold a place in my heart, despite what it made me but I've found a new home, Mangetsu. Home is with Sasuke and my three little brats. You'd like them. They don't give up and they get stronger every day. I'm so proud of them and I only hope I can make you as proud as I am of them one day. I love you, Mangetsu. I'll see you soon but not too soon."

Suddenly, Suigetsu felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Sasuke. He watched with wide eyes as his lover said, "Hozuki family, I'm Sasuke, Suigetsu's lover. I will keep him safe from now on. You have my word that I will love and protect him until the day I die. No matter what happens in life, my path will always lead back to him. I will look after him and have his back through it all. He is the love of my life and always will be. I won't let you down."

Before Suigetsu could say anything, Kei stepped forward and stated firmly, "My name is Kei, student of Suigetsu-sensei! You have my word that I will train hard for him so I can make him proud. I will make sure he stays happy because that's how he should be! You have my word that I will never give up on my sensei no matter what! I'll be there for him no matter what!"

"Kei…"

Yukio and Kano stepped up as well and said in unison, "You have our word, too!" Tears returned to the Kirigakure native's eyes as he stood up and grabbed everyone for a group hug. Suigetsu never thought he could ever be the same again or have a family after his was taken from him but here he was, whole and with a family. The feeling was new to him, but he liked it. He was finally back to normal.

_He was whole again._

**THE END! Sorry I haven't been around lately! I've been writing this for a while! I was running out of ideas for the pairing when a silent Suigetsu finally popped into my head! He wasn't totally himself by the end but he was talking more so give me some credit for that. And, yes, I had Suigetsu using the Ice Release just because I thought it would be cool for him to have it! Anyways, don't be shy about giving me ideas! Also, sorry for any mistakes in this! **

_Song used in the story: "Her Last Words" by Courtney Parker. (You can find her on YouTube)_

_**Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**_

_**HAPPY EASTER EVERONE!**_


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